Elon Musk considering charging users ‘small monthly payment’ to use his social media site as Twitter rebrand continues
BILLIONAIRE Elon Musk is considering charging people to use his social media site as his Twitter overhaul continues.
The site and app, called X after its rebrand in July, could start charging users a “small monthly payment”, the businessman revealed.
He said it was “the only way to combat vast armies of bots”.
Mr Musk has waged a war on fake accounts — known as bots — which spam regular users, and before buying the site even accused Twitter’s board of inflating its user numbers by not having a grip on fake accounts.
But experts predict the monthly charge could be the final straw for many users, who are angered by the site’s many shake-ups since the billionaire bought it.
Some often celebrate wacky viral posts with exclamations of “I can’t believe this site is free”.
Musk has already introduced a £9.60-a-month fee for users who want to become “verified” with blue ticks on their accounts.
The move meant that celebrities, news publishers, government departments and authorities lost their free blue ticks, which tended to signify an authentic account — directing users to legitimate sources of information.
But some defenders of Musk’s tactics say that they use X more regularly than other subscription services they pay for.
Musk bought Twitter for £38billion last year but he now estimates it is worth £20billion.
He revealed his plans in a talk on technology with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
The tech entrepreneur told the Prime Minister: “We’re moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the system.”